History of Diamonds

Origins of the Mythical Jewel

A diamond is a mythical jewel. There are several myths regarding diamonds, of which one is a diamond valley which is protected by snakes. On the other hand we have a full scale production of rough diamonds, millions of carats each year. The exact history of diamonds is still not very accurate.

It is not known for sure when exactly the diamond was discovered but the first ever recorded history for diamonds is about three thousand years ago, in India. Although it is highly likely that the value of diamonds in India grew because of their light refracting ability but records show that diamonds were used for 2 purposes. They were used to decorate things and as a charm to provide protection against enemies and evil spirits.

During the dark ages, diamonds were thought to have healing powers. An anecdote by St Hildergarde says that if a diamond was held in the hand and a sign of the cross was made with the same hand the diamond is in, it could cure illnesses and also heal wounds. Many people even ingested diamonds, hoping to cure their sickness.

Sometime during the Middle Ages, people started paying more attention to diamonds and their worth. Only this time, it was not because of their supposed mystical powers. More attention was being paid to diamonds because of the growing public awareness of their value. Mine owners even spread myths of diamonds being poisonous because workers would swallow them in an attempt to smuggle them out of the mines.

With the discovery of large carat diamonds in India, they became immensely popular in India. The Koh-I-Noor and Blue Hope are two of the most famous diamonds in the world and they were discovered in India. 

Mid-nineteenth century was giving birth to rumors that there are diamonds being discovered in Australia. However, after almost seven years of searching, in the late 1970’s Australia was validated as a diamond producer. Geologies found the biggest diamond deposit in the world; they had found the Argyle pipe, which was near the Lake Argyle. What was once thought to be a rumor is now producing over one-third of the world’s diamond supply yearly.

As time progressed, the value of diamonds kept growing and now it is used in various sectors ranging from jewelry to industrial grade tools, even precision instruments.